We have a new pizza player in town called "A Slice of New York", and the New York transplants are welcoming him aboard. He didn't come here hoping to mimic the Grimaldi's pizzas of the world. Instead, he came here for a technical job, and missed his New York street corner pizza, including their hours. Around here in the SF bay area, our streets roll up around 8pm. So Kirk Vartan quit his job, found a little place not much bigger than a hole in a wall, nestled appropriately between a Jazz Shop & a laundry mat off Stevens Creek Blvd in San Jose, and had all his stuff transported from New York, which included his oven and prep tables. He then set his hours to past midnight (seriously unheard of around here).

At a Slice of New York, Kirk said his favorite pizzerias used a High Protein flour, and his pick was good since he's achieved that honorable tug & chew in the crust. Although sometimes when he re-heats his slices, the level of crisp can offset the tug, which complements his one slight twist... His pizzas are a just a touch lighter and thinner than a typical New York pizza, which lends itself to a slight cross into New Haven pizza territory. This is a style that I often work to achieve myself. But don't expect clam bake pizza here. It's nothing fancy... Just good ol' street corner slices & 18" whole New York pizza pies with a few specialities that sound like Bensonhurst, and a tasty sauce with Grande Mozzarella, and a New York Pizza crust that goes with its hours. Address: A Slice of New York (owner: Kirk Vartan), 3443 Stevens Creek Blvd., San Jose, CA